1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a modular vehicle chassis frame for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional vehicle frame 1 for small and low speed vehicles, such as a golf cart, an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV), and a Universal Vehicle (UV). The vehicle frame includes a front suspension frame part 11 adapted to support a front suspension mechanism (not shown) thereon, a rear suspension frame part 12 adapted to support a rear suspension mechanism (not shown) thereon, and a chassis frame part 13 that includes two main bar pieces 131, a plurality of crossbar pieces 132, and a front piece 133. Each of the main bar pieces 131 has a first segment 1311, a second segment 1313, and a middle segment 1312 that is inclined to and that extends between the first and second segments 1311, 1313. Since each of the main bar pieces 131 is a single piece, manufacturing of the main bar pieces 131 for different wheel bases (a distance between two centerlines of front and rear wheels of the vehicle) and/or for different sizes of the rear suspension mechanism requires different sizes of hydroforming molds or dies for hydroforming the main bar pieces 131, which results in an increase in the manufacturing costs. In addition, manufacturing of the front piece 133 requires other hydroforming molds or dies that are different from the mold used for forming the main bar pieces 131, which further results in an increase in the manufacturing costs.